This is the anxiety dream I had on the morning of launching The Dark Poet. In Real Life, I want to wake at 6.30am and do some last minute preparation. In My Dream, I wake late, at 7.30. I am worried about having slept in. I will be late and ill-prepared. Then I realise I … Continue reading The Second Baby
Author: Kathryn Gossow
Why do you love short stories?
How old are short stories? Short fiction is as old as humankind. Novels are the new fang-dangled thing. The first short tales were oral. Storytellers often used rhyme to memorise stories. One the earliest still surviving tales is "The Shipwrecked Sailor" written on papyrus in Egypt around 2000 BCE. The Greek Aesop's fables, the first … Continue reading Why do you love short stories?
Where’s the Rakija?
The Pocket Bookclub set a dangerous precedent when we emulated Eleanor Oliphant's favourite dinner of vodka and pizza. It seemed that on every other page the characters in Téa Obreht's The Tiger's Wife are drinking Rakija or Rakia. This is essentially fruit brandy from the Balkans which you cannot buy (easily) in Australia. We know … Continue reading Where’s the Rakija?
From Castration to Dissection to Rescue
It is the first Saturday of the month and time for 6 degrees of separation as hosted by Kate at Books Are My Best and Favourite. A book is chosen as a starting point and linked to six other books to make a chain. This month starts with Murmur by Will Eaves. I have never heard of this … Continue reading From Castration to Dissection to Rescue
Book-club Sidesteps
Pocket Book-club talked about a lot of things this meeting. Germaine Greer, The Cursed Child, suitable endings for Game of Thrones, hysterical children on school camps. The hysterical children were somewhat of a segue toward 'the book'. The book being Bluebottle by Belinda Castles. This book was chosen by us on the strength of it … Continue reading Book-club Sidesteps
The Power of Stories
Humans tell stories. We are all natural storytellers even if we never write a book or call ourselves writers or directors. We even see patterns and create stories even when none exists. Watch this film. https://youtu.be/VTNmLt7QX8E Do you see a story? This film was used in the 1944 experiment of "Apparent Behavior" by Fritz Heider … Continue reading The Power of Stories
Strange & Norrell
Some books are like a feather bed. Not that they lull you to sleep. More a case of falling into them like a comfortable dream. If you love a book as much as a feather bed you should not ask your book club to read it. You may hope they will also be dreamily enthralled. … Continue reading Strange & Norrell
Six degrees from The Dry and back again – with a dinner break.
It is the first Saturday of the month and time for 6 degrees of separation as hosted by Kate at Books Are My Best and Favourite. A book is chosen as a starting point and linked to six other books to make a chain. I have missed a couple of months and approach this post with … Continue reading Six degrees from The Dry and back again – with a dinner break.
Easter in the Subtopics
The meaning of holidays - or holy days - like Easter has changed and will continue to changes and so it should. Most people know that Easter was a Spring Equinox festival. Eostre was a goddess of renewal and spring. Eggs were a symbol of new life and the promise of spring after the harsh … Continue reading Easter in the Subtopics
The Cover Story
People do judge a book by its cover. The cover makes the first promise to the reader. The promise of fantasy, romance or horror. You can usually tell by the cover. What makes a good cover is a science I don't have time to learn. I am therefore grateful to have a publisher Odyssey Books … Continue reading The Cover Story